Which young Laker will benefit most from playing with LeBron James?

Which young Laker will benefit most from playing with LeBron James?

Opening night is about a month away and LeBron James can’t contain his excitement. After years of trying, the Lakers finally have a superstar to hopefully lead the franchise back to the playoffs and hang a banner or two in the rafters.

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Championships aren’t won in the offseason unless you’re the Warriors, so the Lakers still have a lot of groundwork to lay before being truly considered as championship contenders. LeBron has discussed the need to build championship habits with this new group, and if the Lakers are going to win a championship – this season or beyond – they will need one or more of their young core to take a big step forward.

This team lacks shooting and big men but has a stable of young talent poised to blossom playing alongside LeBron. We’ve seen LeBron be demanding of talented youngsters in the past (Kyrie Irving’s zero assist game comes to mind) and we’ve seen what can happen when those same talented youngsters rise to the level of play James demands out of them (2016 Game 7 Kyrie comes to mind).

LeBron wants teammates that ‘have that dog in em’ as the kids say, and all four members of the Lakers young core appear to fit the bill. None of Lonzo Ball, Brandon Ingram, Kyle Kuzma, or Josh Hart appear afraid of the moment. But which one will benefit most from playing alongside The King? We took a look.

Lonzo Ball

Diss tracks, jumpers, and knee surgery made up Lonzo Ball’s summer. LaVar’s oldest son underwent surgery to repair a torn meniscus and tweaked his jump shot following a historically-poor shooting rookie year. You’ll notice that Ball still shoots from the left side of his face, but he’s developed a quicker and cleaner shot release.

It’s good news that Ball spent the offseason improving his shot because with LeBron in town he’s going to be relied on for off-ball shooting. Based on his rookie numbers, that thought might terrify Lakers fans, but there’s reason for hope. Lonzo thrived in off-ball, catch-and-shoot opportunities in his one year at UCLA, as ESPN’s Mike Schmitz recently noted on Twitter. LeBron gave us a sneak peek at what this would look like during a recent NBA 2K19 session.

Lonzo’s confidence in his shot wavered at times last season and it manifested itself in him passing up open opportunities. He became a record scratch. If he falls back into that habit this season he’ll be on the bench and LaVar will be calling out Luke Walton again.

That 2K clip shows how LeBron envisions Ball fitting into the Lakers offense. LeBron will be the de facto point guard, as he’s been on every team he’s ever been on, and Ball will be able to utilize his great cutting instincts and play read-and-react basketball versus scrambling defenses. Those two things combined with his vision are what make Ball truly special. If he’s making shots from long distance then the floor will open up even further for him to make plays for others. He just has to be willing to take the shot.

There may be questions about his shot, but no one questions Lonzo’s transition passing. His hit-ahead passing and quick scoring mentality is a perfect fit for LeBron. James will be free to fill the lanes knowing that Lonzo will find him. It should look like a Hollywood version of his outlet pass connection with Kevin Love.

Thriving in transition and hitting open shots will be the keys to Lonzo’s development and potentially the Lakers’ season. If he does those things he’s the perfect point guard to pair with LeBron, but is that how the script will play out?

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